If you get hurt in a car accident, you may think about making an insurance claim or suing for damages. What happens if you don’t notice an injury right away? If you don’t feel pain right away, that doesn’t invalidate your claim. If someone caused you harm and you want to hold them accountable for their negligence, a Snohomish County car accident lawyer may be able to help.
Is It Common For Accident Victims Not Feel Pain Right Away?
It’s actually not that weird for accident victims to not feel pain right away after a car accident. This can be a stressful situation and your mind can be preoccupied with so many other things. Then you get away from the crash scene, things calm down, and you realize that something is wrong. You don’t have to miss your chance at claiming compensation just because you didn’t notice an injury right away.
Should I Go to a Doctor Even If I Don’t Feel Pain Right Away?
This is also why it can be a good idea to schedule a doctor’s appointment after your crash. Even if you don’t feel pain right away, some pain, stiffness, or numbness could make itself known before your appointment. If you still don’t feel injured before you go to your doctor, don’t cancel the appointment. Instead, make sure that nothing else is happening under the surface and let your doctor use all of the diagnostic tools at their disposal.
If you’re fine, that’s great! If you’re injured, now you have medical records and a diagnosis from a doctor showing that. It can make a big difference to do this in the days immediately following an accident. Wait too long to seek medical attention and confirm your injuries and another driver’s insurer might try to claim that you were not injured in the accident. They can say that you were hurt somewhere else, sometime after the crash.
How Long Do I Have to Sue For Damages?
You should still do everything that you can to get legal action started quickly though. The statute of limitations for personal injury cases in Washington state is three years. That means that cases filed after this much time has elapsed are likely to be tossed out in court.
Missing out on your chance to claim compensation for this reason would be silly. That’s why we recommend talking to a lawyer. Someone from our firm can focus on filing your case, handling all of the paperwork, and getting negotiations started. You focus on recovering from your injuries and getting back into your normal routine.
Contact Our Law Firm
So if you were hurt in any kind of car accident, we want to hear from you. Even if you didn’t feel pain right away, contact Amy C Brown Law, PLLC to schedule a consultation and learn more about how our personal injury attorneys can assist you.
